Valverde's Gold: In Search of the Last Great Inca Treasure - Hardcover

Honigsbaum, Mark

3.59

97 ratings by Goodreads

9780374191702: Valverde's Gold: In Search of the Last Great Inca Treasure

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374191700 ISBN 13: 9780374191702

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004

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In 1887, two British sailors landed on the coast of Ecuador and set off across the Andes on a secret mission. Their task was to locate an immense hoard of Inca gold which had been lost for hundreds of years. A botanist who had recently returned from Ecuador had provided them with documents proving it still existed and gave them the route to find it. And find it they did - but both perished before they could make their way back to the cave a second time.

In Valverde's Gold, Mark Honigsbaum attempts to unravel a riddle that has inspired frustrating and fatal treasure hunts for centuries. When he delves into the botanist's life and discovers an ancient Spanish treasure guide buried in his notebook, he cannot help but be drawn into the mystery. Undeterred by the cursed history of the gold, Honigsbaum embarks on an epic journey into the last uncharted range in the Andes-the Llanganati Mountains of eastern Ecuador. This is the story of how the lure of gold intoxicates even the most level-headed of historians, and of how men-and women-are seized with the desire to claim treasure from one of the most inhospitable landscapes in the world. Honigsbaum battles through mountains, jungles, and conflicting stories, and, as he draws closer to the hidden cache, illuminates the allure of lost gold and the hold it has on our imagination.

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About the Author:

Mark Honigsbaum is the author of The Fever Trail (FSG, 2002) and lives in London with his wife and two children. .

Review:

Praise for The Fever Trail:

"The Fever Trail is an engaging account of one of the great sagas of plant exploration...It is a rich and astonishing tapestry, a story of adventure and intrigue, of wealth and power, played out against a backdrop of pharmacological wizardry and botanical splendor." --Wade Davis, Explorer-in-Residence, National Geographic Society

"Lovingly researched and written...An adventure story cum historical account of dreams and schemes to steal the valuable tree with the crimson-lined leaf." --Scientific American

"A lush tale of buccaneer botanists and heroic hypochondriacs-a screen treatment that has the advantage of being absolutely true."--Scott Brown, Entertainment Weekly

"Reads like a 19th century thriller set in South America, filled with high adventure and botanical wonder, crisscrossing snowcapped mountains and jungle valleys."--Claire Panosian Dunavan, Los Angeles Times

"A rich book, jammed with information...Honigsbaum has found a terrific story and tells it with his dial tuned to both its historical importance and its dramatic power."--Anthony Brandt, National Geographic

"Intriguing and well-researched."--Beryl Lieff Benderly, The Washington Post Book World

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